Practice Newsletter

Edition 2 | May 2026

The future of personalised health: why “one size fits all” is changing

You may have heard increasing discussion about “personalised medicine”—but what does this actually mean for you as a patient?

Recent UK research is moving us away from simple, one-size-fits-all measures (such as weight or BMI alone) towards a more individualised understanding of health risk. A new tool developed using UK data can assess a person’s risk of developing conditions like type 2 diabetes or heart disease based on a range of factors—not just their weight.

This reflects a wider shift in medicine – two people with the same measurements can have very different health risks.

What does this mean in practice?

Traditionally, healthcare has relied on broad categories:

• “Normal” vs “high” blood pressure
• “Healthy” vs “overweight”
• “Low” vs “high” cholesterol

While these are still important, modern medicine increasingly recognises that:

• Risk is individual, not average
• Lifestyle, genetics, and existing conditions all interact
• Early identification allows earlier, simpler interventions

A growing focus on prevention

This shift comes at an important time. In the UK, overall health is being affected by rising rates of:

• Cardiovascular disease
• Diabetes
• Lifestyle-related illness

Recent national data suggests that people are spending more years of their lives in poorer health, highlighting the importance of prevention and early action.

How this links to your care with SIMP

At the practice, this approach is already part of how we work:

• We look at your overall risk profile, not just single results
• Annual medicals are designed to pick up early changes
• We focus on practical, tailored advice rather than generic targets
• Where appropriate, we use testing and follow-up to track trends over time

This means care that is:

• More personalised
• More proactive
• More focused on long-term health

Is my membership fee worth it?

This is a question patients occasionally ask, and it is worth setting out clearly what your membership includes—and how we aim to deliver value while keeping the service sustainable for everyone.

Your annual membership includes:

• Unlimited GP and nurse appointments (typically 20-minute GP consultations)
• Annual medical (double GP appointment + comprehensive nursing assessment)
• A FIT (bowel screening) and cervical screening tests included
• Administrative and clinical support (telephone calls, emails, referrals, test coordination, follow-up communication and reports, dispensing medication)

To give some context, the true cost to the practice of a single GP appointment is approximately £75 once overheads are included.

For comparison, a standalone annual medical (Well person health check) for non-registered patients is £395.

Membership therefore represents very strong value, particularly for patients who benefit from continuity, accessibility, and proactive care.

The membership model relies on fair and reasonable use so that we can continue to offer prompt access, continuity, and high-quality consultations.

Seeing the right GP at the right time

We understand that many patients prefer to see a particular GP. Continuity is important, and we always try to accommodate this where possible.

However, we are a small team of GPs, most working part-time. This means individual clinicians are not always available and their appointments can fill quickly.

We therefore work as a collaborative team, sharing information and supporting each other’s patients to ensure continuity of care.

Urgent problems are managed via our duty doctor system:

Each day, one GP is allocated to manage urgent issues. In these situations, it is not always possible to see your usual GP, as priority is given to timely care.

You may be offered another GP if your preferred doctor is unavailable, fully booked, or on leave. We encourage flexibility to help maintain access and reduce delays.

Your membership provides access to the GP team rather than a specific named doctor at all times.

Working with your NHS GP

Many patients remain registered with an NHS GP. We recognise the importance of coordinating care, particularly for prescriptions.

We now have a secure NHS email account, allowing us to communicate more efficiently with NHS practices.

This allows us to:

• Share consultation summaries
• Request prescription changes more efficiently
• Reduce delays compared to postal letters

To enable this, we require your consent. Please complete a consent form at reception or complete the online consent form here.

If you do not wish to give consent, please let a member of the reception team know so we can record this in your file, even if you have told us before, as your previous preference may not have been carried over to our current clinical system.

Our aim is to provide a more seamless connection between your private and NHS care, improving speed, safety, and reliability of communication.

Meningitis B – vaccination update

You may have seen recent reports of a meningitis B outbreak in a UK university, which has led to increased enquiries about protection.

Meningitis B is a serious but uncommon infection. While many younger children are protected through the NHS vaccination programme introduced in 2015, a significant number of teenagers and young adults were not routinely vaccinated.

Vaccination now available

We now have meningitis B vaccines in stock and are able to offer vaccination at the practice.

• Cost: £155 per dose
• Administration: Given by qualified clinical staff
• Course: Typically requires two doses, at least 4 weeks apart.

Who should consider this?

Vaccination is particularly relevant for:

• Students preparing to go to university
• Young adults living in shared accommodation
• Anyone who did not receive the childhood MenB vaccine

For families with children finishing A-levels and planning university, this is a timely opportunity to consider protection.

How long does protection from the Meningitis B (MenB) vaccine last?

• Research shows the MenB vaccine provides protection for around five years, although this varies between individuals. The timing of the doses given to babies on the NHS schedule protects them when they are most at risk of infection.
• This means that the MenB vaccine given in infancy does not protect teenagers from infection.
• You may be considering further vaccination during the teenage years, which is when the risk of meningitis increases again. Anyone choosing to have the vaccine would need a full course, which consists of two doses given at least one month apart.

What to do next

If you or a family member would like to arrange vaccination or discuss whether it is appropriate, please contact reception so we can provide further advice and arrange an appointment.

This is a sensible preventative step for those at higher risk, and we are happy to guide you based on individual circumstances.

Prescription Requests

A gentle reminder that the practice has always operated a 72-hour notice policy for prescription requests. This applies both to written prescriptions and to requests for medication to be dispensed. The timeframe allows us to review your notes and order medication if it is not already in stock.

Please note that weight-loss medications may take up to one week from the time of ordering to arrive. If you require one of these medications, we kindly ask that you notify us at least 7 days before you need to collect it.

And finally…

We would like to thank all our members for supporting the practice and for the trust you place in our team. We remain committed to providing a friendly, accessible, and highly personalised service. Your feedback helps us improve, and your continued membership allows us to maintain the level of care and continuity that makes our practice what it is.

If you ever have suggestions, concerns, or ideas for future newsletters, we would be delighted to hear from you.

With best wishes

Julie Lock

Practice Manager